This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to our favorite mountain getaway, Blowing Rock/Boone area of North Carolina and to The Local.

One block off King with a private parking lot across the street…WIN!

This eating establishment also boasts big screen TVs to watch your favorite sport teams. Located a block off the main drag (King Street), the restaurant gives you the feel of an eatery for locals just waiting to be discovered by visitors.

Dora here. And don’t forget about the dedicated parking lot across the street, FREE. Bonus!

Hubby’s pointing to a dog bowl, letting these folks know The Local is pet friendly!

Dora here. What a wonderful outdoor space. With two garage doors that roll up, it’s a relaxing experience for sure especially when the day is as nice as this. Cool breeze, great food, and it’s PET FRIENDLY! People lined up to sit outside on the patio and I almost felt sorry for the ones who opted to eat inside. Even so, the interior is spacious, clean and beautiful. 

Awesome, comfortable interior but everybody lined up to eat outdoors on the gorgeous deck 🙂

The one thing on the menu that drew us to this place was the Asheville County “squeaky” cheese curds. These curds were parmesan crusted and fried, served with a Chipotle dipping sauce. Let me say, we were not disappointed. Great from the first bite, the cheese was gooey, and the batter perfectly cooked.

Cheese Curds Appetizer ~ Soft and yummy!

Dora here. Soft and smokey, melted goodness. Yum, yum!

For my lunch, I chose the Boonie Burger. Smoked pimento cheese, fried green tomato, and dill cole slaw topped a huge patty sandwiched by a soft bun. The mild flavor of the pimento cheese combined with the crunch of the slaw and the juicy patty, this is one burger everyone needs to try. And the sprouts? Outstanding!

Boonie Burger with Sprouts-Outstanding!

Dora here. I ordered the Na’an Traditional Cuban, and boy was it ever! Non traditional, that is. lol. Inside that na’an you’ll find pulled pork, bacon, swiss, pickles and mayo. To me, all the individual elements were great; the pork was tender and juicy, the na’an soft. Unfortunately the bread couldn’t hold up against all that juicy goodness,  and the sandwich as a whole needed a jazz of flavor. Overall, not one of my favorite dishes, but with so many other dishes on the menu calling my name, next time I’ll try something else because, trust me, this place is definitely going on our favorites list.

Na’an Traditional Cuban…boy was it ever!

What’s your favorite appetizer?

We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food. Dora here. 4.5 for me, 5 for Ernie. 🙂